


Five Minutes to Midday

by Tressimir



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, Gift Giving, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 19:25:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8590657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tressimir/pseuds/Tressimir
Summary: Hajime has a deadline to keep. He isn't saving the world or defeating some evil mastermind, but it's no less important for that.





	

Hajime barely swerved in time to avoid a crowd of students, their affronted shouting a dull noise in his ears as he ran at breakneck speed along the paved paths of Hope’s Peak’s courtyards. A quick glance at his watch confirmed what he hoped wasn’t the case – it was already 11:50 and he had yet to reach the meeting point. He’d been planning this for over a month, yet when the time came to put his plan into action it had nearly been ruined by the huge crowd at the store he’d needed to visit. Thankfully he was able to get the critical package before it was sold out, but between the enormous line and trying to fight his way back out again afterward he’d taken much more time than he expected.

“Hey, Hajime!” Kazuichi called out to him, nearly making his heart stop for a second. If one of his classmates was already out, did that mean the others were too?

“Sorry, Kazuichi! I have an appointment; I’ll have to talk to you later!” He barely caught the Ultimate Mechanic’s flabbergasted face as Hajime blew past him, still charging along at full speed. Thank god he’d accepted Nekomaru’s training offer; it had been hard and he was hardly able to walk some days, but without that extra stamina his plan would’ve been derailed.

He felt the package still securely tucked under one arm and smiled to himself, happy despite the exertion he was forcing himself to continue. A vision of a girl popped into his head, all smiles and pale pink eyes glimmering with delight – the entire reason he’d gone to all this trouble.

The momentary distraction was nearly enough for him to run headlong into Gundham and Sonia, who stepped aside at the last moment. “You run as though pursued by the demon king of the ninth Hell. What could possibly be so urgent as to require such a reckless charge?” For once Hajime didn’t spare the effort to try and puzzle out what the hell his classmate was saying.

“I have to get to the old campus and don’t have any time to spare, sorry!” Hajime barely caught a spark of interest in Sonia’s eyes as she noticed the package under his arm, instantly realizing the situation.

“Gundham, come with me!” She ordered, running alongside Hajime and scattering the crowds of students with her authoritative tone as she shouted, “Clear the way immediately! We cannot afford to be delayed!” The combination of the Ultimate Princess shouting at the top of her lungs and the Ultimate Breeder giving death glares to whoever didn’t move fast enough was enough to force the crowds to either side of the path and leave a clear space for Hajime to run. Sonia stopped when his route was clear, but made sure he could hear her as he continued on without them. “Good luck, Hajime!”

He felt his heart warm at his friends’ efforts – Sonia came off as clueless sometimes thanks to her foreign upbringing, but some things surpassed borders and she knew it. Without hordes of bodies in his way, he was able to reach his destination in less time than he expected. 11:55. He’d made it.

When the five minutes to meeting time were up, he’d regained the composure he’d sacrificed in favor of speed, holding the package behind his back. His eyes scanned the area until he spotted the person he was waiting for running up to him. “Hey, Chiaki.”

Chiaki skidded to a stop in front of him, her nose nearly slamming into his chest, before she looked up at him and smiled. “Hey, Hajime. Sorry to make you wait, Miss Yukizome needed to go over a few things with me before I left. Did you need something?”

That pure smile was what he loved to see, so unconditionally open and accepting of everyone. “Sorry to call you out here, but I have something I wanted to give you.” He brought the package out from behind his back and pressed it into Chiaki’s hands, unable to suppress a smile of his own.

“Wait, this is…” Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked over the game he’d just handed her. “The new _Sigil of Flames_ that just came out today? And it’s even the special collector’s edition with all the downloadable story paths bundled in with it! I tried to preorder it but the entire shipment had already been reserved! Hajime, how did you get ahold of this?”

The unadulterated glee on her face made Hajime happier than he could remember being any other time recently. “Well, one of those reservations was mine. I found out when the release was and preordered it a month ago so I could surprise you with it today. Not the most original gift, but I remember you talking about how much you love this series, so…” His words were cut off when Chiaki threw herself against him, knocking the wind out of him with her tight hug.

“You have no idea how happy I am right now! Thank you so much, Hajime!” It was rare to hear this much emotion from the usually-spacy Chiaki, but the way her voice overflowed with joy made his heart melt. Of all his classmates she meant the most to him; it was why he’d done this in the first place.

Once she’d released her bruising grip on him and allowed him to breathe properly again, Hajime hesitated for a moment. He had the words in his mind already, but his tongue didn’t want to cooperate. Mustering his willpower, he forced what he wanted to say from his lips. “Chiaki, I wanted to give you that so you knew how much you mean to me. Just words would seem empty, but now that you have actual proof in your hands, I have to say it: I love you, Chiaki Nanami. I’ve been in love with you for a long time. So…” He could feel his face warming and mentally chided himself. Now wasn’t the time to be blushing like a damn kid! “Will you go out with me, Chiaki?”

The resulting silence seemed to stretch far longer than it actually did, the gamer’s eyes locked onto his as they stood there. Hajime was about to say he didn’t mind if she rejected him, but another, even tighter hug precluded the words. “Yes! I’d love to be your girlfriend, Hajime!” Her cute little face was buried in his chest, no doubt only because she was too short to reach his face, and he could swear he heard a tearful edge in her voice. “I’ve loved you for so long too, you know. But I didn’t think someone as social as the Ultimate Empath would want an introverted gamer like me, so I didn’t say anything. Hajime, you’ve made this the happiest day of my entire life!”

He gently pried her off of him, looking down to see her tearing up with happiness, and placed his hands at her waist. Chiaki let out a small squeak of surprise as Hajime lifted her off her feet, catching her in a kiss that she responded to with surprising enthusiasm, their lips locked together as tight as the affection they mutually shared.

Despite her bringing it up, this had nothing to do with talent. Only love.


End file.
